Ashiks (an ashik is a folk poet who can be compared to a bard or troubadour) of the Turkic world came together and showed their skills and mastery at the event called "Sazs of the Turkish World Meet" (the saz or the bağlama is a plucked stringed instrument ) organized by Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) Turkish Teaching Application and Research Center (OMÜ-TÜRKÇE).
The guests of the event held at OMU Atatürk Congress and Culture Center were ashiks Peri Hasanova from Azerbaijan, Perizat Nurbegkızı from Kyrgyzstan, Bekaris Nuriman from Kazakhstan, Temel Turabi and Rahim Sağlam from Erzurum region of Türkiye, and Eyyubî Todil from Çukurova region Türkiye. They exhibited examples from the ashik tradition, one of the unique values of Turkish culture and civilization, which is filtered from the experiences of the centuries and passed down from generation to generation.
OMU Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Prof. Dr. Vedat Keleş, Samsun University (SAMU) Engineering Faculty Dean Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Demir, OMU TURKISH Director Prof. Dr. Bekir Şişman, OMU State Conservatory Director Prof. Dr. Can Karahan, OMU School of Foreign Languages Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emrah Ekmekçi, SAMU Civil Aviation School Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erdem Emin Maraş, OMU Faculty of Medicine faculty member Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Akan, and many academicians and students attended the event.
OMÜ-TÜRKÇE Director Bekir Şişman, who made the opening and greeting speech of the program that started with a moment of silence and the National Anthem, talked about the activities carried out by the Center since 2013 and said, "OMU-TÜRKÇE, which has adopted service to the Turkish language and culture as its motto, has always been impressive and appreciated with the cultural events it organizes. We are proud to add a new one to these events. Our ashiks, the representatives of our ashik tradition, which was included in the UNESCO ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) list in 2009, also undertook a mission to protect the Turkish language and transfer it to the future. As our University and our Center, we embrace this tradition and thus fulfill our corporate responsibility. For his contributions to such programs, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Rector, Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal."
Afterwards, the ashiks of the Turkish world presented examples of the various styles of the tradition such as ‘hoşlama’, ‘güzelleme’, ‘koçaklama’, ‘taşlama’, ‘atışma’, ‘muamma’, ‘lebdeğmez’, and ‘bozlak’, and performed the works of Karacaoğlan.
The event ended with the protocol members presenting certificates of appreciation to the guest ashiks and taking souvenir photos.